


underneath my glass house

by valkyriered



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Parental Kazuma Sohma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26967748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyriered/pseuds/valkyriered
Summary: It’s surprising how quickly Haru can flip.Sometimes it’s easy to see the pressure building, but Haru, like most Jyuunishi, has gotten very good at hiding his feelings. And sometimes, it’s impossible to tell until it’s too late.--Haru goes dark, and Kazuma is entirely unprepared for the reason why.
Relationships: Sohma Haru & Sohma Kisa, Sohma Kazuma & Sohma Kyou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	underneath my glass house

  
It’s surprising how quickly Haru can flip.

Sometimes it’s easy to see the pressure building, but Haru, like most Jyuunishi, has gotten very good at hiding his feelings. And sometimes, it’s impossible to tell until it’s too late.

Until Haru has grabbed one of his classmates by the head, and slams him into the floor.

Kyo is on him in an instant— Haru is desperately trying to claw his way out of Kyo’s arms, but he’s enraged enough to be sloppy, and so Kyo maintains his hold.

There’s blood on the floor.

“Kunimitsu—“ Kazuma starts.

“I’ve got him.” Kunimitsu says, immediately going to the injured boy. He’s sprawled across the ground. He’s not moving. 

Kazuma swiftly steps in front of Haru, blocking his view of his classmate sprawled onto the mat. Haru has the wild look in his eyes that he usually has when he snaps, like he can barely stay in his own skin. His breath is coming in harsh little gasps, his hands clenching and unclenching into tight fists.

“Haru.” Kazuma says quietly, firmly. He lifts his hands to rest them on Haru’s cheeks. “Haru, take a breath.”

“I’ll kill him.” Haru hisses. He won’t look at Kazuma, too busy pulling at Kyo, trying to get at his classmate. Behind him, Kazuma hears a groan as he stirs. 

“Kyo.” Kazuma says gently. “Help Kunimitsu. I’ll take care of this.”

“Shishou…” Kyo looks dubious.

“It’s fine. I can handle him.” Kazuma smiles gently at Kyo. Kazuma has seen Haru go black plenty of times. It was certainly easier when he was younger, when it would manifest as screaming and tantrums. As a teenager, a dark Haru is more dangerous, but no less upset and hurting. It was much simpler when his weapon was words, and not his fists.

When Kyo releases him, Haru rushes for his classmate, but Kazuma is prepared. He steps between them, and catches Haru firmly in the chest.

“Come on.” Kazuma says, pushing Haru out the door, into the garden. “Come on, Haru.” 

Haru is still struggling, but even in his state Kazuma isn’t worried about Haru hurting him. At this point, he’s most dangerous to himself. Haru, even while black, has yet to permanently maim someone. 

Although given what just happened, he may have broken that particular record. It’s not like Haru to hurt someone so badly. He’s given his cousins plenty of bruises and black eyes, but damage to this degree is new. 

“Let me go.” Haru says, low in his throat. “Shihan, let me go.”

“I won’t.” Kazuma says firmly. 

“I hate him.” Haru’s voice cracks.

Ah. There it is. 

For all of Haru’s wrath, it always comes from a place of personal hurt. 

Kazuma gets him out the door, and there’s a flurry of movement where Haru shoves against him, but Kazuma holds him tightly, pins him against his chest like a cat trying to claw its way from his arms. 

“Let me go.”

“Breathe, Haru.” Kazuma drags him further from the dojo, deeper into the gardens until the sound of birds and wind through the trees almost drowns out the flurry from the dojo.  
Haru is shaking, coming down from the adrenaline rush of rage and violence. Soon he’ll be exhausted and hungry and wanting someone to hold him. He transforms so quickly from a whirlwind back into a child. 

“I hate him.” Haru says again, but there’s less conviction in his voice. He sags against Kazuma. 

“Is that true?” 

“Yes.” Haru says, but the rage from earlier is dissipating, the sureness of his hatred leaving him. He just sounds tired. 

“Okay.” Kazuma says. Haru is no longer struggling against him, so Kazuma slowly, carefully loosens his grip, still ready to catch him in case he tries to run. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Haru shakes his head. He slides out of Kazuma’s arms, landing on his knees in the grass. Kazuma watches him dig his fingers into the grass and dirt. He squats down beside Haru. 

“You know I can’t have violence like that in my dojo.” Kazuma says. “You’re going to have to take a break for a while.”

“Shihan…” Haru says, almost pleading. “I’m sorry.”

“You know the rules.”

Haru nods miserably. His eyes are red and glassy, and his jaw is set like he’s holding back tears. It’s moments like this where Haru reminds Kazuma of Kyo— dangling on the precipice of exposing his hurt, and instead pulling himself back, shielding himself from pain. 

Kazuma watches at Haru silently rubs his hands against the grass, not pulling it out like Kyo might, but instead digging his fingers into the earth.

“Is there something else going on?” Kazuma asks gently. Haru has been more on-edge lately, and Kazuma notices the way he doesn’t pull his punches so much anymore. 

Haru stares down at his hands. He opens his mouth as though he’ll speak, but then he closes and squeezes his eyes shut.

“Haru.” Kazuma reaches out and carefully, gently lays a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Haru swallows. He doesn’t open his eyes. “Have you seen Kisa lately?”

“I have not.” Kazuma says. In fact, most of the time when he sees Kisa, she’s holding hands with Haru or tagging along behind him. 

Haru inhales slowly, and then lets out a slow, shuddering exhale. He clenches his fists in the dirt. “Something happened.” He says. “To her.” His voice cracks. 

Kazuma’s heart stutters. ‘Something’ could mean any number of things in this family. He thinks of Kyo’s rejection, of Rin’s bruises, of Hatori’s eye. He thinks of the countless abuses that come with being Jyuunishi. He thinks of Kisa’s shy, sweet, gentle smile. 

“What happened?” Kazuma asks, before he can stop himself. 

Haru is silent for a few beats, long enough that Kazuma feels like his heart will fall out of his chest. “Akito.” He finally chokes out. He opens his eyes. They’re red, and a tear streaks down his cheek, drips off his chin. He takes another deep, shuddering breath, and more tears fall. “It’s bad, Shihan. She was in the hospital.” 

Haru doesn’t need to be any more explicit. It’s too easy to put the pieces together. 

He has more questions, but now isn’t the time for that. He needs to focus on Haru. 

“Okay.” Kazuma murmurs. He moves his hand to rub Haru’s back, slowly and gently. He’s learned over time that when it comes to the Jyuunishi children, almost all of them respond well to being touched. 

Haru closes his eyes again. He’s not crying in earnest, but he’s letting out small, shaky breaths, and tears continue to drip down his cheeks. He rocks himself minutely, and Kazuma’s heart breaks to recognize the same way Kyo tries to self-soothe when he’s upset. 

Haru, like so many of his family members, has trained himself to cry quietly. 

Kazuma looks up at the sound of feet coming down the path. 

“…Shishou?” Kyo rounds the corner. His eyes drop to Haru, and then he quickly, awkwardly averts his gaze. “Kunimitsu took Aoga to the hospital.” 

“Thank you.” Kazuma says. 

Haru sniffles and wipes at his eyes, leaving streaks of dirt across his cheeks. “I’ll help clean up.” He says.

“It’s already almost done.” Kyo says.

“I can finish up, then.” Haru stands, and except for his wet cheeks and the dirt on his hands and knees, it’s like he was never upset at all. His voice is evened out, his face blank.

Kazuma stands as well. 

“Haru.” He says quietly, low enough that Kyo can’t hear him. 

“Thanks, Shihan.” Haru says, in a normal tone. He turns to go, and Kazuma catches his wrist. Haru pauses.

“Come see me if you need to.” Kazuma says gently. “Any time, Haru.” 

Haru doesn’t say anything. He has his back turned, but Kazuma can see how he’s tensed, how his shoulders are hunched. That he’s aware of Kyo, that he’s uncomfortable and maybe even a bit embarrassed. 

Kazuma releases his wrist.

He watches as Haru wipes at his face again, and then heads down the path without looking back. 

Kyo doesn’t look back either, but Kazuma watches him take a few longer strides to catch up with Haru, so they can walk side-by-side. 

If Kyo is saying anything to him, Kazuma can’t hear it.

Kazuma sighs and brushes off his kimono. He needs to go back to the dojo— he’s sure that Kyo did a fine job clearing out the other students and cleaning up, but it shouldn’t all rest on his shoulders. 

He gives the boys a minute to get ahead of him. They could probably use some privacy. He doesn’t think Kyo and Haru would have any sort of serious talk about Haru’s feelings, but it’ll still give Haru some time to cool down, and maybe remind him that there are people around him that care. 

He wonders if Kyo knows about Kisa. Kazuma has long since gotten used to being the last to know things, and hearing them days later through Kyo or Shigure. Even Kyo is surprisingly withholding when it comes to the Jyuunishi, as though he feels some sense of obligation to keep those secrets. The Jyuunishi are excellent at keeping things quiet and among themselves. He’s seen how deeply internal the children can be. Even with Kyo’s constant annoyance with Kagura, they’re able to communicate in a way that seems unnatural from the outside. It’s like they know what they’ll say before they say it. 

Watching the children fight is even stranger— they’re able to anticipate each others’ moves beyond the tell of a shifted foot or a drawn back hand. They move in anticipation of something that hasn’t even been thought of yet, much less communicated through their bodies. 

There are mysteries to the curse that Kazuma can’t even begin to understand. He wonders if Haru’s pain over Kisa exclusively because she’s a child he loves, or if there’s something deeper there from the curse. He wonders if Haru suffers for her in a way Kazuma can’t imagine. 

And Kisa.

Sweet, quiet Kisa. 

The thought of someone laying a hand on her makes him feel ill. He wonders if Haru visited her in the hospital. The memory of Haru screaming at Rin’s mother in the hospital is still freshly seared into his mind, but Kazuma already knows Haru couldn’t direct rage like that at Akito. That maybe it makes this that much worse. 

He doesn’t want to think of how frightening that experience must have been for Kisa. He doesn’t want to think about how deeply traumatizing it must have been, to be so young and beaten so badly that she needed to be hospitalized. 

Instead he just stands by and watches as this family chews up children and spits them back out, broken and hurting. 

He wants to head back towards the dojo to check in on the boys, but his feet feel weighted down by grief, by the combined feelings of revulsion and sadness. He wants to be angry, but he can’t. What is Akito but another victim of this family? A child that’s just further evidence of how they crush children and grow twisted, broken adults. 

How far had they fallen that they would turn a blind eye to the beating of a little girl? 

It’s times like this where his desire to take Kyo and run compounds. He fantasizes about a world where Kyo’s curse doesn’t pin him to Sohma earth, where he doesn’t exist at the beck and call of a God that would sooner kill him than anything. It’s an impossible world and he aches for it. 

A world where Kyo is free. Where Kisa wasn’t beaten and Hatori was wed. A kinder world. 

He begins taking slow steps back towards the dojo. For a moment, he allows himself to pretend that Kyo is a normal child in a normal family, and that here he is safe.

The fantasy exists to be broken, but he yearns for it all the same. 

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'Earth' by sleeping at last.
> 
> not proofread, etc. etc. Sorry for any spelling mistakes, follow me on tumblr if you want more content, yall know the drill :) 
> 
> http://valkyriered.tumblr.com/


End file.
